The House and Senate recently passed bills that would implement
a number of new homeland security measures. In conference, a key
provision of the Senate's bill that would strengthen and enhance
the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) should be improved by requiring
visitors from countries entering to "check out" at major U.S.
international airports when they leave the country. With this
requirement in place, the Department of Homeland Security could
ensure that foreign visitors are complying with U.S. immigration
law.
The VWP allows visa-free travel between the United States and 27
countries for up to 90 days. The program has not been expanded
since 9/11 out of concern that terrorists, criminals, and
immigration violators might exploit the opportunity to enter the
U.S. and remain unlawfully. But restricting casual travel with many
countries that seek stronger ties to America has hurt the U.S.
economy and diminished America's image abroad. With that in mind,
the Senate's homeland security legislation proposed enhancing
security provisions in the program and opening up the possibility
that more of America's friends and allies in the war on terrorism
could participate in it. This proposal would benefit the United
States and its allies.
In particular, the bill would require that the Administration
create a cap on overstay rates and establish a mandatory exit
system to track foreign VWP travelers. This is reasonable. Congress
has already called for creating a mandatory exit system for all
travelers, but due to the cost and complexity of the task, the
government has not instituted any mandatory exit checks. This must
change. Mandatory exit checks are necessary for security and
immigration control. Overstaying visitors, for example, account for
over a third of illegal aliens. The government needs a system to
ensure that countries using the VWP are not abusing the program-and
if they are, have the solid evidence to justify revoking that
privilege.
The top 11 airports account for 70.45 percent of international
travelers. If 97 percent of international airports have to
implement this system, an additional 120 international airports
would have to install exit systems now. All that extra cost would,
in the end, account for only 30 percent of travelers.
The Right Solution
Congress should require the 11 international airports with the
largest numbers of foreign travelers to implement a mandatory exit
system. For a suitable probationary period, when VWP travelers from
new VWP countries enter or leave the U.S., they should be required
to travel through those 11 airports. As time progresses and
resources become available, the list of airports should be
expanded.
This approach would encourage the Administration to move forward
in instituting a mandatory exit registry program in a practical,
affordable, and reasonable manner. In addition, it would allow new
countries to join the program sooner while establishing a concrete,
verifiable measure to ensure that they do not abuse it.
James
Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is Assistant Director of the Kathryn and
Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and Senior
Research Fellow for National Security and Homeland Security in the
Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies. Helle C.
Dale is Director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for
Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby
Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies. James
Dean is deputy director of government relations at. Research
Assistant Diem Nguyen contributed to preparing this
WebMemo.